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The Corellian League Back Story - Chapter One - Part 14
The weapons platform defense lasers continued to unleash barrage upon barrage of blistering laser fire, the turrets pivoting wildly as Kell redirected them at the discordant mass of incoming Sith Troopers. “Have you repositioned the cannon yet?” He asked, his voice finally assuming a bit of urgency, though far from panicked. They had witnessed the incineration of the Republic gunship atop the landing platform, followed by the collapse of the flybridge. A simple matter of deduction led them to the dire understanding of the plight now facing the Republic contingent within the complex. “It’ll be done faster if you stop asking me,” Quyn barked in irritation. “There is no way the targeting computer can hit a fast moving object….a Phantom is most certainly out of the question.” As she manipulated the firing controls, the motors and servo within the mass driver cannon housing whirring and grinding, she could not help but allow her mind and senses to drift toward the approaching Sith forces. No matter what happened, they were doomed. “Keep your mind on the task at hand, Quyn,” the Jedi Knight reinforced calmly. Quyn flinched, sensing that damn Kell Malo was once again rummaging around in her head. “Get ready to fire or Tormax and the others will have no chance.” With that Kell keyed the control panel again, a wide spread of laser fire setting the ground around the platform ablaze. Quyn looked warily up towards the top of the datacenter spire, and amid the torrent of laser fire she heard the approaching howl of the Phantoms once again. ---- Wind howled atop the spire, as Karissa emerged from the access stairwell, chest heaving from the long climb. The emergency landing pad was small, but more than suitable for a hasty and discreet exit. The Bounty Hunter was well versed in these tactical withdrawals. She keyed a complex sequence into the control pad on her wrist, and once complete her eyes snapped to the dark horizon, anxiously looking and listening for signs of her approaching craft. A rhythmic sound reached her ears, the repeating clomp of heavy boots climbing stairs. Her gaze flicked back to the access stairwell behind her, and she cursed under her breath. Quickly scanning the rooftop, Karissa spied a small utility shed and a cluster of power transformers. Dashing through the biting wind, the Bounty Hunter took up cover and drew her sonic disruptor. A Republic Trooper emerged from the stairwell, blaster up and ready to fire. Without hesitation she fired the disruptor, its powerful wave of energy vaporizing the armor and flesh of the trooper’s arm, the force of the blow launching him a dozen feet backwards and tumbling to his death over the edge of the spire’s rooftop. Theydon recognized the sound of the disruptor and held his position rather than pushing onto the roof. He held up his fist, ordering the contingent behind him to stop. He signaled with a complex motion of his fingers to Tormax, who nodded in understanding. Carefully, Tormax transitioned Jaxon’s limp form to Wes’s waiting arms, and in a crouch followed Theydon up the last of the stairs. Karissa glanced over her shoulder as the disruptor slowly charged up for another attack, the recognizable thrum of the sub-light engines of her vessel finally reaching her ears. She caught sight of the D-5 Mantis on a swift approach vector, the triangular points formed from the engine foils and dorsal weapon array silhouetted against the neon background of Coronet City. She keyed the control pad again and the vessel slowed, the engine foils pivoting as the Mantis entered a hover. “Careful Jedi dogs,” she yelled. “The weapon systems of my ship are enabled…I can vaporize you all from right here if I needed to.” Theydon and Tormax crawled onto the roof, staying close to the ground as they took up cover behind a nearby maintenance shed. “Options?” Tormax asked. Theydon peered around the edge of the shed, noting the Bounty Hunter’s position and Mantis hovering some 50 feet from the building. “Limited,” the Lieutenant muttered. “If we take her down we lose the ship…otherwise she will tear this rooftop to pieces with the Mantis’s ordinance.” Karissa touched her fingers to the control pad and exited cover. She sidestepped across the rooftop toward the landing pad, keeping her body squared in the direction of the stairwell. “Show yourselves and I blow the ship…we all die.” Tormax shifted his eyes toward the Lieutenant, a look of desperation waxing over him. He ignited his lightsaber, and coiled his body ready to launch into an attack. “If dying today is our destiny…then I will take that Bounty Hunter with us.” But as he prepared to attack, Theydon stayed him with a heavy hand to shoulder. “Wait! Listen…” The roar of a second set of sub-light engines pervaded the rooftop and with a violent upward thrust, the Fair Game thrust upwards behind their position. “Get down, Tormax!” Theydon yelled urgently, as he fell flat against the cold metal of the rooftop. Karissa’s eyes went wide with surprise, her already pale skin blanching in exasperation and anger. “Tirnel….you bastard.” Beyond the cockpit glass of the XS Light Freighter, she could make out the face of Captain Marq Tirnel and subtle curves of his signature smirk. “NO!” The laser batteries of the Fair Game ignited, lashing out at the Mantis. An engine foil was sheered away from the fuselage and a second explosion tore through the dorsal armor of the craft, as the munitions hold erupted into a gout of white-hot plasma. The Mantis dropped violently, disappearing from sight beyond the edge of the spire before exploding in a cloud of superheated particles. Within the cockpit of the Fair Game, Marq felt an undeniable sense of satisfaction. Having done business with the Rattataki for years, he was not ashamed to admit that he didn’t like the slippery Bounty Hunter one bit. But that moment passed all too quickly, as several warning indicators on his control panel flared. He glanced at the radar display, three rapid approaching blips flaring, and the Captain swore under his breath. “Well…this was a bad idea.” He yanked violently on the control stick, peeling the poorly maneuverable freighter away from the edge of the spire and haphazardly dropping several hundred feet in elevation. A barrage of laser cannon fire tore into the side of the spire above the Fair Game. Tormax and Theydon rushed to the edge of the rooftop, as the three Phantoms strafed once more between the towers of the complex at blistering velocity. “He doesn’t stand a chance,” Theydon murmured. “He can’t match their maneuverability.” Tormax could only watch, the futile reality beginning to take hold. ---- “That’s the Fair Game!” Quyn yelped. Even as she came to the sudden realization, she continued to fight with the cannon’s targeting system. She was able to follow the vapor trails of the Phantoms as they slowed to make a tight arc and angle back in on the XS Freighter and the kill. Even so, the mass driver was not designed for ground to air targeting, and certainly against nothing as swift as a Phantom. “This isn’t going to work, Kell,” she blurted in exasperation. “Forget the targeting computer, Quyn. Use the Force.” There was unflinching candor in his tone. “What are you saying…I’m not a Jedi?!” “The Force is in all things…it is not a privileged right of the Jedi or the Sith. We all can sense it…I know you have. Think of those moments of ‘intuition’ that have saved your life…how you knew me to be a Force wielder when we first met in the Unknown Odds.” “I…I…” Quyn struggled with the mere possibilities of the notion. “Now reach out…feel the Force in the freighter…feel it surrounding each of the Phantoms…the buildings…within the cannon.” Kell had abandoned the defense laser controls and was standing over his friend. “Close your eyes…feel the Force.” He hovered his hand over her, attempting to help tune the Force energy within the smuggler. Quyn closed her eyes and reached out for those subtle echoes of awareness, tremors she at last understood to be the Force. She sensed the quickly approaching Phantoms, and using the Force as her guide she targeted the mass driver cannon along their vector. Sucking a deep breath, she held it for a brief moment and fired. The cannon boomed once more, its super-accelerated mass projectile tearing the night sky in two. It struck the lead Phantom, tearing the ship in half. The second Phantom tried to veer away, but the flaming debris of its wingman tore through the fuselage and it too spiraled to the ground a flaming wreck. Quyn’s eyes burst open and the pent up breath exploded from her chest. “I did it…” She said with a gasp. Kell was about to congratulate her, but he noted the trajectory of the last Phantom had changed and was rapidly descending on their position. “Get down, Quyn!” He cried, pulling her away from the weapon’s console and pushing her to the floor of the platform. Laser fire from the Phantom lit up the ground all around them, striking the platform and tearing its armor plating to rented holes of molten metal. The Phantom dipped low to the ground, strafing in close to the platform to make the killing below. Kell ignited his lightsaber, centered his mind and forced away the pain of his wounded hip. Without hesitation and of thoughts of self-preservation he dashed forward and launched himself into the air. He had timed the jump perfectly, gracefully propelled a two-dozen feet up and away from the platform. The Phantom whisked overhead, and with his lightsaber clutched in both hands and extended above his head, he struck out at the attack ship. The bronze and silver glow of the saber pulsed brilliantly as it sheered through the wing of the craft. The Phantom was too low to the ground and moving too fast to recover. It tumbled into a spiral, before its cockpit dove violently into the ground and the ship disintegrated into a mass of twisted metal that careened across the municipal complex grounds before exploding against a building. The Jedi Knight landed in a crouch at the far end of the platform, face twisted in agony, as blood spilled from the bandaged wound. “Kell!” Quyn cried out. He spun towards her. “All of the weapon systems are offline.” She motioned toward the swarm of Sith Troopers that had reached the base of the platform. With a quick glance back to the top of the spire, Kell smiled slightly. At least Tormax and his contingent were safe. He slowly made his way to Quyn’s side. “I want you to go.” The skin of his face was fast becoming pale and was glazed with sweat. “What are you saying?” Quyn asked with a shake of her head. “You heard me…no more of your defiance.” Kell smiled fondly at the young smuggler. “It was a pleasure.” Never one for small talk, Kell suddenly leaped away, lightsaber flaring brilliantly once again The Jedi Knight landed in the midst of the throng of Sith Troopers and launched a vicious flurry of attacks. ---- Marq breathed a much-needed sigh of relief as the last of the Phantoms was destroyed. He was not suited for all of these heroics and was not ashamed to hide his exuberance for still being alive. He maneuvered the Fair Game once more to the top of the tower and set her down upon the small landing pad. Karissa was still down there, and as he stood from the pilot’s seat he unlatched the leather restraint that held his blaster pistol secure in the holster. Upon reaching the cargo bay, he lowered the ramp and casually strode down it. Of course Karissa was waiting for him, sonic disruptor aimed at the Captain, as he reached the base of the ramp. “Good to see you, Karissa,” he said with a wide smile. The Rattataki edged forward, faced twisted in a scowl of pure hatred. “Damn you, Tirnel. This will be your last con.” Marq held his hands out wide, a look of feigned exasperation on his face. “Now that hurts, Karissa. Particularly coming from someone like you.” He brought two fingers to his chin and tapped it rhythmically. “It wasn’t a con…I had all intentions of going through with our deal.” Reaching to his utility belt, he tossed the pouch of credits to the ground at the Bounty Hunter’s feet. “But then I realized…a galaxy controlled by the Sith would be bad for business.” Karissa spat at him. “Either way…you’ve crossed the wrong people this time.” “Of that I have no doubt.” His gaze subtly wandered passed the Rattataki as Tormax and Theydon emerged from the far side of the spire rooftop. “But then again, I would rather cross the likes of you than damn myself by falling in with the Sith!” “I’d kill you here and now, pig…but I need you to fly me out of here.” She nudged the blaster in his direction. “Die now or die later…your choice.” A truly introspective look flashed across his face. “Now seems best.” With a flash of movement he jerked his blaster from the holster and fired two shots. They struck the Bounty Hunter center mast, and Karissa fell, stone dead, to the landing pad. Marq stepped towards the fallen Bounty Hunter. “Always fire first,” he advised the corpse. His gaze snapped up, as Tormax approached, followed by Theydon and the others. “My thanks, Captain. But we will still have words later,” Tormax said gravely. Marq had never been threatened by a Jedi. It was an unpleasant prospect. He cleared his throat uneasily. “Shall we retire?” Tormax shook his head. “There is one more task at hand.” Captain Tirnel rolled his eyes. “I should have guessed.” “We need to rescue whomever saved our lives from the complex grounds below…they saved your life as well.” The smuggler could only nod his head and acquiesce. What other choice was there, really? “Fine…fine…everyone on board quickly.” The remaining troopers and Jedi filed past, and Marq gave Karissa one final look. Instinctively his eyes gravitated toward the pouch of credits lying by her feet. He glanced about, a glimmer of guilt on his eyes. At last, he shrugged. “Waste not…want not.” Plucking up the pouch, he dashed up the ramp. ---- Kell was pressed on all sides, deflecting blaster fire, slashing through Sith Trooper armor, and repelling others with waves of Force energy. These were sure to be his last moments, and as such he would leave this galaxy in perfect harmony with the Force. But as attackers closed in all around him, he sensed a familiar presence at his side. He glanced over his shoulder even as he deflected several more plasma bolts. Kell could hardly claim to be surprised. Quyn was there, snapping shot after shot from a pair of blaster pistols. She flashed the Jedi Knight, her friend, a smile that belied the foreboding inevitability of their deaths. Strangely, for someone who had spent her short life fighting for survival, she found a strange sense of satisfaction in this moment. But as death came for them, salvation descended from on high. The Fair Game swooped in, hovering low over their hands, its dorsal blaster turrets igniting and cutting a deadly swath through the Sith Trooper horde. Kell watched as the cargo ramp descended, two Jedi standing in the threshold, silhouetted by the halogen lights within the vessel. With a quick upward thrust of his hand, he propelled Quyn off the ground. The smuggler writhed awkwardly at the sudden, uncontrollable momentum. “Kell…you…” A waiting hand flashed across her peripheral vision. She latched onto it and was wrenched upward and into safety within the ship. Kell Malo smiled, and as Sith Troopers descended on him for the kill, he launched himself into a reverse somersault. He landed squarely on the ramp, even as it began to ascend once more. The cargo access snapped shut with a hiss, the sub-light engines of the Fair Game flared, thrusting the Freighter into the darkness of night and to safety. ---- With Bel Drayson dead, the Jedi find themselves without any senior Jedi Masters. They are also no closer to the truth as the tumult enveloping the galaxy deepens. No longer Padawans, and joined by their trooper and smuggler allies, they resolve themselves to protecting Corellia and returning the sovereign might to Republic. Assuming the mantle – The Corellian League – the nine council members send out covert messages to all those still loyal to the Republic and Corellia. Jedi… Trooper… Smuggler…all who had the heart to fight, the will to resist, and the skills to overcome would be welcomed within the League. Within the Selonian Tunnels their base of operations took form. Troopers ran security and tactical operations, while smuggler activity provided valuable intel and funded the league’s efforts. And the Jedi stood ready…lightsaber in hand, the Force as their ally, prepared to undo the evils of the Sith Empire. The accommodations were drab, but such was the lot of an upstart band of rebels forming their base of operations in the Selonian underground. Through Marq and Quyn’s industrious “means” the burgeoning league had filled a small bunker with monitoring gear, weapon caches and other essentials. Security measures had been overseen by Lieutenant Theydon and Corporal Dresage, and while the Lieutenant was hard pressed to be satisfied, he found the defenses adequate for the time being. At last, Tormax gathered the nine founding members of the Corellian League around a circular holotable and bade them sit. His gaze found them all in turn, and he could not help but smile at this odd brotherhood. An expelled Jedi, a Force sensitive smuggler, a charming rogue, two decorated soldiers of the Sacking of Coruscant, and four young Jedi thrust upon the galaxy. He could only hope that the teachings of Noval Colton and Bel Drayson would guide their actions not only in strength but wisdom as well. “What is the word, Theydon?” He asked after a long silence. “Responses to the encrypted signal we broadcasted are coming in daily, Sir.” The Lieutenant keyed the terminal. Names and designations scrolled by on the holo-display, and a seldom seen smile crossed Tormax’s lips. “We have troopers from across the Republic, more of your Jedi brothers and sisters…” “Any more smugglers? We could do without them,” Jaxon groaned. “Come now!” Marq exclaimed. “We need to improve the general class and personality of this pathetic, little band.” “All are welcome,” Perth interjected, ending the light-hearted squabble. “The League will need all the help it can muster if we are to take back Corellia.” “Rightly so,” Tormax agreed. “Any who count themselves enemy to the Sith, defenders of the Republic and forsworn to the safety of Corellia are welcome.” His eyes panned down to the holotable where one of the council had scratched into its metallic surface, No Matter the Odds. Taking heart from the axiom, Tormax said at last, “I call this first council session of the Corellian League to order. On to our first matter of business…” -- This concludes Chapter One of The Corellian League's Story. Now the saga continues, with YOUR stories...